Transcript-Origins of the Theater-The History of Vaudeville Prologue

Transcript-Origins of the Theater-The History of Vaudeville

Prologue-One of the most colorful and entertaining periods in the American Theater was the time known as Vaudeville. During the late 18 and early 1900’s this was a special form of theatrical entertainment that appeared in many large cities across the United States and Canada that was considered one of the greatest time periods in theater.

Slide #1-Vaudeville was not one type of entertainment but a blend of different forms and it allowed many various types of entertainers a chance at stardom. It included concerts, one-act plays, comedy, dancing, jugglers, singers and even short movies. Finally, women could appear on the stage and many became very famous entertainers. The time era was from 1880-1930 and it was popular in both the United States and Canada.

Slide #2-Vaudeville started in the theaters in New York City during a time when many cities and government officials were looking at ways to develop their cities and towns after the explosion of the Industrial Revolution. There was money being generated and people wanted to spend their money. There was a large and growing middle class society looking for family entertainment where there would be no alcohol and drugs and it needed to be affordable for the average working family. With these ideas in mind, the style became known as “Polite Vaudeville”.

Slide #3-The rich and the middle class had always been a dividing factor in this country and vaudeville helped bridge that gap, for at least the few years it was popular. Before this time, the shows in the theater were considered far too violent for women and children and their audience was specifically wealthy men. The industry started to evolve and began supplying what the people were looking for- wholesome family entertainment. It started put with simple Shakespearean plays, some acrobats and some singing and dancing. Soon, people were looking forward to what might be new at the local theater and anxiously attended in hopes to being the first to see a new act.

Slide #4-The popularity of vaudeville was huge and people began investing in chains of vaudeville house called Curciuts. One such investor was Tony Pastor. Owning a Curcuit could offer large profits to the investors. The playhouses in a Curcuit ranged from large to small, but the biggest and most popular was a playhouse in New York City called The Palace Theater. It became the center of vaudeville and many of the national celebrities would be featured there and there was always a job market to fill.

Slide #5-The life of a vaudevillian was difficult with no personal time and tours that would last up to a year at a time. Actors never got to spend time with their families and many remained unattached to avoid the pain and difficulty of always being on the road. The schedule was very demanding because vaudeville shows almost always showed at night leaving the actor very little time for sleep. Women and children in vaudeville were big money makers and many children lived this life with little or no education. The theaters at first were in very poor conditions, but as money started coming into the theaters, many improvements were made. It was all about money at this time. The average entertainer made more money than the average factory worker.

Slide #6-Tony Pastor was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referred to as the "Dean of Vaudeville."

Slide #7-Some of the famous people from vaudeville’s era. Mickey Rooney was also extremely famous in film and Hollywood. He was only a child when he started in Vaudeville and later became a very famous movie actor. Walter Brennan was born here in Lynn, Massachusetts and also later became a very famous movie actor. He was most well known for his role in the TV western, “The Real McCoys”.

Slide #8-Vaudeville died as suddenly as it had begun. It seemed the country quickly grew tired of this form of entertainment and people started craving something more sophisticated and educational. The shows were growing stagnant and not improving. Things were different anymore and people stopped being exciting about seeing something new. As the cost of running a show grew so did the price of admission and people were reluctant to pay a higher price to see what they already saw several weeks before. The prices got so high that the average middle class family couldn’t afford to go to the theater and they were the class of people this form of theater was supposed to service.

Slide #9-In the final years people were just going to kill time. The only people who were finding the shows even remotely entertaining were children. The smallest audience, the late night people, was the best audience but there wasn’t enough of them to pay the bills. The actors who spent months on tour, never slept and seldom saw their families, simply grew too tired to care. The Palace Theater closed its doors. At the closing one of vaudeville’s greats, George Jessel, gave a moving speech. The Palace later reopened as a movie theater. During the end of vaudeville, the records of payroll and biographies of actors, were disposed of and no longer exist today.

Slide #10-Vaudeville did leave a legacy. There have been many attempts to bring vaudeville back to the theater. There are some theaters today they have reenactments of vaudeville and they attract a large audience. Tributes are made quite often to the vaudeville greats and Hollywood uses the time era as the subject for many great films. Many of the popular comedians today have used to work of the vaudeville comedian as their inspiration and feel it is a great compliment when they are compared to one of vaudeville’s greats.